German grammar structure free#

“And”, “because” and “so” are all examples of conjunctions in English. German Conjunctions: The 2 Types Of ConjunctionsĬonjunctions are little words that you use to join two parts of a sentence together. Here's what happens with the verbs einkaufen (to shop) and anfangen ( to begin/to start), which are both examples of verbs with separable prefixes. When a verb has a separable prefix, the prefix is moved to the end of the sentence. For example, in English, “un” is a prefix you add to certain words to change their meaning: “happy” => “unhappy”. Some verbs in German have a prefix attached to them. In this case, it's usually a preposition.Ī prefix is a short word attached to the beginning of a word. For example, in English, “played” is a conjugated form of the verb “to play” that indicates past time. Note – A conjugated verb is a verb that changes to indicate the gender, tense, number, person or other aspects of the sentence.When you have two verbs in a German sentence, you place the conjugated verb in the second position and the unconjugated verb at the end of the sentence. Dealing With Double Verbs Two Verbs In A Sentence However, a few extra rules come into play as we start to change certain elements.įor example, when asking a question, the verb comes first. So far, German sentences appear to share an almost identical structure to English sentences. I've labelled each element of the sentence so you can tell the verbs from the other parts of the sentence. Let's look at a few examples where the verb comes second. With a few exceptions, the verb comes second in German sentences. In the meantime, back to the subject at hand… 1.

German grammar structure free#

If you’re ready to get started, click here for a 7-day FREE trial. With German Uncovered you’ll use my unique StoryLearning® method to learn German verb position and other tricky grammar naturally through stories. Don't worry, it's not so scary after all.īy the way, if you want to learn German fast and have fun while doing it, my top recommendation is German Uncovered which teaches you through StoryLearning®. You'll learn exactly where to put German verbs in different situations, including the “dreaded” verb at the end. In this article, you'll see the logic of the language in action when it comes to where to verb position in German. I've always said that one of the big advantages of learning German is it's logic (a lot of which it also shares with English). And verb position is one of the more straightforward concepts in German grammar. The good news for you is that German sentence structure follows a clear set of rules. I mean, where on earth do you actually put these verbs to make your sentence!? It's as if German sentences were encoded using some sort of Shakespearian language. If you want to find out where to place NICHT in a a German sentence click here.Verb position in German, along with many other aspects of learning German, can seem confusing right?

position.Īdvanced learners can find more complicated rules about the word order in German sentence here. position while the Subject is “nailed” to the 3. In case that the interrogative sentence starts with a so called W-word (wer/was/woher/wo/wohin/wie etc.), the Verb which corresponds with the Subject is “nailed” to the 2. position, while the Subject follows it.ħ. In the so called ja/nein-questions (the answer will begin with “ja” oder “nein”), the Verb which corresponds with the Subject is on the 1. place in the sentence instead of the subject which means that the verb will come right after it.Įxamples: Normalerweise stehe ich früh auf.

place in the sentence will change the word order in the subsequent sentence i.e. Any other word (or word-group) other than ADUSO-words that finds itself on the 1. Ich spiele Fußball und er spielt Klavier.ĥ. ABER DENN UND (NICHT…,) SONDERN ODER (the so called “ADUSO”-words) do not change the word order in the subsequent sentence (they are, so to say, not a part of any sentence, they stay outside of it/them).Įxample: Er möchte mich besuchen aber ich bin nicht zu Hause. position (in both cases just beside the verb!) in a sentence. It can never move any further than that.Įxamples: er kommt am Montag / am Montag kommt er. Subject in a declarative sentence can be placed either on the 1. Imagine like it has been “nailed” to that position.Ģ. In a declarative sentence the Verb which corresponds with the Subject is always placed at the 2.